Nail-driving firearm



March 31, 1953 C. TIETlG NAIL-DRIVING FIREARM Filed Aug. 25, 1949 HTTOBA/fy Patented Mar. 31, 1953 NAIL-DRIVING chester nietig, Covington.. Ky@ applicati-mAcgusezmsw. sesamo. naast (o1. 1944.51l (Granted unaerj Title 35, its. Chae. (51952:),

i 9y Claims.

sec. 266i I v The. invention described, herein may be manufactured and. used. by or for the. Government. for governmental purposesk without. payment to me qian'y royalty thereon.

"This invention. relatesl to nail-driving re arm which is adapted for building structures. or for any of. the. uses to. which a. conventional. nail' and' hammer combination. are.customarilyused.v The term .riail` as. herein. used is intended. to. in-

clude drive-screws, lspikes and rivets.

A Qneobject of the. invention `s toA provide a.

nail-driving fire arm which can easily bev operated much. faster than the conventional' nail and hammer combination.`

Another object is. toa provide a nail-driving fire.

arm-.which will enableA nails; and. drive screws to be more easily driven in places/which are inaccessible for conventional nail driving. or accessible only with diculty.

-, Another object is to provide a nail-driving4 gun which. may be used by. cripples. and` unskilled persons, for example women, to drivev larger di ameter nailsy than lthey would. be4 ablev to drive hy conventional means. The term cripples indicated includes personsinjured in. aircraft;v acci'-l dents: whov willnd this tool useful in making. re.-

pairs to.` their aircraft. after crashesin places where aid and shop facilities-- are not available` VAnother. object of the invention isto. combine a` safe means for driving nailsr in. which the cus'- Vtomarily experienced* mashing of fingers with a FigQ3-.is a detail showingj a supplemental nail.

holder for contactwith. the piston rod; .this nail holder may be a, magnet. It is shown in longitudinalsection; and

i Fgure"4-is a longitudinalsectional view ofthe outer end of the cylinder and its associated parts inV whichthe supplemental' nail. holder tip or.

adapter of;l Figure 3 is tted into. the recessed end of the piston. rod.

In Fig. 1 the rearm shown` is. a conventional bolt action rifle I0, the.- stockof which is shownv with its middle portion of the stock II` deleted. In the rifle shownL |2is a, bolt; I3V is-the foreend; I5 is the trigger guard; I6 is the trigger; I1 is a` bolt handle; i8 is a cap4 for. a. tubular magazine. (not shown); I9 is a blank cartridge in thecham-l' ber 20,. while 2`l` and 22 are the. rear and front receiver rings, the. front ring. being adapted to, receive the gun barrel 23.

The barrel of my fire arm comprsesa, con? venti'onal rearward` section comprising a barrel". 23 which is provided' with a conventionalV smooth bore 24 preferably of' .22` caliber. The c lflamber` is preferably of` a size to accommodate 22'lcng rie blank cartridgewhichwi11' then also accom-1 modate .22 long and .22 short blank cartridges." My device is intended to use blank. cartridgesA only; ball cartridges should never be used except 'i perhaps in extreme emergencies. Ball cartridges would undoubtedly' operate the device-by the.im, pact of the4 bulletL but would clog the mechanism. thereby and might be dangerous to the operator.'

Threadedly attached to the, front'- portion of the barrel portion 23', there is a cylinder 25ct considerably less wall thickness than that of the conventional, barrel 23. At vone side, preferably the right side of the cylinder at a point Va few inches to the front of the. threaded jointi 2E between .the barrel and the cylinder, there is a row of small'perforations 2l,v which. are gas and air. exhaust ports and also for internal lubrication. They lie on both. sides of the piston head-28a Whenit is: at its extreme outward position. Withf in the cylinder25, therev is a piston 28' whichfis 'a moderately-tight sliding t in the bore of'A cylin-V,v der the piston head 28a abutting the squared' endof the barrel' 23. The piston rod 28h extends.' through a bearing 29 which is tightlypositioned!v in the bore of the cylinder 25preferably a little closer to the cylinder outer end 30v than to the. barrel'23'. Together the piston and .thepistonnv rod `constitute plunger means..` Thebearing .29.' may be vintegral with the cylinder 25 oritlmaybe'. threadedly engaged.. therein. Astiff *coilA 3l holds the. piston head 28a against thesquaredf end4 of therbar-rel 23-,.utilizing the shoulder of theg bearing 29 as a base. The piston rodlbfegge. tends entirely through the bearing-29a. short. distance, preferably an. inch more or: less, and?.l intoa combination sleeve bearing and nail; supi port the.- outer end of-,Which-extends to theouter end of the tube 25. Y'

The outer end of the piston rod 28h may bearAA a compound recess. 33a and 3,31), the formerbeing closest'to the end. of. the rojd 28h andbeing.. of larger diameter than the recess 33h. These.

recessesrare' intendedto fit accommodation. of.' nail `headsj.o`ff different., di'ameters .-More` than.'-A

or only its'tip or nail holder 34, shown in section f in Figs. 1 and 2 need be magnetized. In Fig. 3 it is shown in its separable form in longitudinal section as 34h. This tip 34 or 34bis preferably made out of Alnico alloy or any other extremely powerful permanently-magnetic material, for example, tungsten tool steel. The purpose of the magnet is to hold the nail so that it will not drop from the cylinder outer end 30 While the operator is aligning it to a position on the work and to which he wishes to drive it. Its magnetism should be strong enough to hold the nail against gravitation, The tip 34h may be threadedly' or otherwise detachably affixed to the outer end of rod 28h so that magnet tips of different sized recesses or different magnetic properties may be selectively axed to the rod end. The recessing may be lined with especiallyhardened steel or other metal.

4 Not only may the tip 34 or 34h be a permanent magnet, but the bearing 35 in which the rod 2322 Operates, may be a permanent magnet, so that the'attraction for the nail is increased. Either the tip 34 or the bearing 35, or both, may be magnetized as preferred, but care is to be exercised so that the polarity arrangement is such that the nail head 36a is held in magnetic contact withthe nail holder 34 which is integral with the rod 28h or with the separable rod tip 34h prior to the driving of the nail 36.

Figure 4 shows, in longitudinal section, the position of the separable tip or adapter 34h fitted into the recesses at the outer end of rod 28h.' Stem 38 nts into recess 33h and shoulder 39 ts into recess 33a. The adapter as a whole ts the sleeve bearing 35 with an `easy sliding fit. The outer end 'of the adapter 34D preferably lies wholly within the bearing 35 before the tool is fired; however, it may project beyond the bearing 35 and the outer end 30 of cylinder 25 a short distance as long as its maximum diameter 49 still has substantial contact with the inner Vsurface of the sleeve bearing 35. Thus, adapters 34h of different lengths may be used for the accommodation of nails of diierent sizes; the pur' pose being to magnetically support the nail so that its pointed end will always lie outside the outer end 30 of cylinder 25, and in a straight line' which is a prolongation of the piston rod axis. However, vfor certain kinds of work it may be preferred to have the tip 34h positionedoutside the outer end 3D of cylinder 25 so that the shoulder 39 of the tip 34h abuts the end 3U. Any appropriate change in the dimensions of the tip 34h may be made to render such positioning feasible provided that the length and dimension of #stem 38 is such as to t into the outer end of piston rod 28h.

' i Operation The operator rst manually introduces intok the cylinder outer end 39 the nail 36 and ts it into one of the recesses 33a or 33h, depending upon the size of its head. He then opens the bolt I 2 .of the rie and inserts intothe chamber a 4 blank cartridge, the size of which is appropriate to the nail to be driven and also to the material in which it is to be driven. For example, if he has a large nail to drive, he will use a large cartridge; if he has a small nail to drive he will use a small cartridge. At times, if he must drive a small nail into very hard material, he will use a large cartridge or one with a heavier powder charge. In .22 caliber, he has at least a choice between the .22 short blank cartridge and the .22 long rie blank cartridge. After loading the chamber and closing the bolt he will place the cylinder outer end 3D so that the projecting tip of theV nail is on the exact spot in which he desiresnthat it be driven. He may, if he chooses, align the nail exactly with the bore of the gun, but such alignment is not necessary. He then pulls the trigger I6, thereby ring the cartridge I9 and causing its gases to act upon the piston head 28a. The piston rod 28h thereupon is pushed forward, and the outer end of the piston rod 28h drives the nail. If desired, the outer end of the piston rod 23h may be shod with a soft felt washer 31 to prevent the work being marred. This washer may be oil-soaked to provide lubrication for the operation ofthe piston rod in the bearing 35.

If the nail is of such' sizethat more than one explosion is required to drive it fully, the gun may be reloaded, the cylinder outer end 30 fitted over the incompletely driven nail so that the nail head again nts in one of the recesses 33a or 33h and another shot red.

For close work it may be desired that this device have more the form of a pistol than of a rifle. For such purposes the stock may be eut off along the dotted line 4| shown -in Fig. 1, thereby giving the tool a pistol grip only.

While I have shown the bolt action rifle for the sake of simplification of drawing, it is to be understood that the -kind of rearm action or breech mechanism may be other than of the kind shown; more specifically the rifle action may be lever action, trombone action, semi-automatic or full automatic, it may be repeating or single shot. For work in which it is advisable to start the nail by hand, the end of rod 28h need not be magnetized. The gun is not restricted as to caliber nor to rim-fire cartridges.

Likewise, the cylinder 25 and its contents can be used as an attachment to ordinary rifles provided that the end of the rilie barrel is threadedl or otherwise adapted for the firm attachment of the cylinder 25. l I Y What I claim is: j

i. A nail-driving tool comprising a' firearm adapted to use propellant ammunitionhaving a barrel, a cylinder firmly concentrically attached to the muzzle, said cylinder being perforated along its side at the neighborhood of its middle, piston'means in said -cylinder adapted to receive a push from gases ejected from the muzzle upon functoning'of the firearm, spring means to return said piston means back to the .muzzle arten each functioning, means for positioning a nail. on the outer end of said piston means, the head of the nail being incontact therewith, said means being adapted to support the nail ina position substantially in line with the axis of the barrel and of the cylinder whereby it may be driven into work material toward which the firearm is directed by the explosion therein provided that said work material is only a short distancefrom the outer end of said cylinder.l

, 2. A nail-driving firearm comprising a stock, a

breech loading action mounted on `said stock, a barrel. in operative relation to said action, a cylinder attached to the outer end of said barrel,

Y said cylinder being provided with a longitudinal row of gas ports intermediate of its ends, a piston Within said cylinder arranged to abut said barrel at the outer end thereof and to receive an im- 'pulse from gases discharged from said barrel Vwhen lthe firearm functions, a spring normally urging said` piston into abutment with the outer Vend of said barrel, a piston rod extending outbearing for said piston rod, said bearing being substantially at the outer end of said cylinder and adapted to receive a nail inserted therein so that its head abuts the outer end of said piston rod.

k3. In a nail-driving tool, a rearm having a bore, a cylinder oi larger bore than the firearm concentrically attached to the muzzle thereof to receive blast therefrom, a piston and piston rod slidably actuable in said cylinder by the blast, a coiled spring arranged normally to urge said piston against said muzzle, a bearing for the outer end of said spring intermediate the ends `of said cylinder, the cylinder having at least one port positioned to vent gas from both sides of said pist-on when the latter is fully extended after the rearm is fired, and means substantially at the outer end of said cylinder for holding a nail in substantial alignment with the longitudinalv axis of the cylinder and in contact with the outer end of theV piston rod whereby said nail may be driven into work material by blast from the nrearm transmitted by said piston and piston rod.

4. In a nail-driving tool, the combination comprising a firearm having a barrel adapted to receive an explosive charge, a cylinder attached to the muzzle of said barrel, a piston normally abutting said muzzle, a spring normally urging said piston against such abutment, a piston rod attached to said piston, means at the outer end of said cylinder for guiding and supporting said :piston rod, said means being hollow and substantially capable of accommodating a nail having its head portion in contact with the outer end of said piston rod, said outer end being a permanent magnet capable of attracting and holding a nail against the action of gravitation.

5. The combination recited in claim 4 whereinV the permanent magnet lpiston rod end is provided l the outer end of the cylinder.

7. A firearm attachment to enable said iirearm to drive nails, said attachment comprising a threaded cylinder, a piston and piston rod vforwardly slidable therein from a .position in which said piston abuts the muzzle of the r-earm, means for attaching the inner end of said cylinder to the muzzle of a firearm, means for supporting said piston rod and furnishing a bearing therefor to enable said rod to slide substantially along the axis of said cylinder, said bearing means beingk substantially at the -outer end of said cylinder and being adapted to contain and align a nail with the major axis of the iirearm, the cylinder having gas escape vents through its wall substantially on both sides of said piston when the latter is at the end or" its outward travel, and spring means for returning said piston and rod to its substantially original position in front of the muzzle. i

8. A iirearm attachment as recited in claim 7 in which the piston red bearing is a magnet capable of holding anail against gravitation and of aligning it substantially with said cylinder axls.

9. A nail-driving tool comprising a firearm including a barrel, a cylinder having one `end attached to the outer end of the barrel and in cornmunication therewith, a piston and piston rod assembly slidable within said cylinder with the piston adjacent te said barrel, a coil spring surrounding said pist'on rod and normally urging said piston against the outer end of said barrel, a bearing for said piston rod within said cylinder and in contact with the outer end of said coil spring, a sleevel bearing at the outer end of said cylinder and vpositioned therein so that normally only a short portion of the bearing is engaged by the outer end oi said piston rod and the remainder of said bearing is open to provide a free space into which a nail may be inserted head first, and mean-s on the outer end of said piston rod to releasably retain the head-end of said nail and to hold the nail in substantial axial alignment with the piston rod and with the outer sleeve bearing.

CHESTER TIETIG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 608,555 Nazel Aug. 2, 1898 1,699,519 Brown Jan. 22, 1929 1,867,928 Smith July 19, 1932 2,096,002 Moreira Oct. 19, 1937 2,158,763 Sabal May 16, 1939 2,302,646 Temple Nov. 17, 1942 v12,446,994: Barker Aug. 17, 1948 

